Despite rumor mill, ‘Idol’ life good for Utahns
Two months after he finished second on “American Idol,” life is pretty darn good for David Archuleta. As the “Idol” tour rolls into Utah for a two-night stand, the future looks bright.
“Everything is wonderful right now,” his father, Jeff, told the Deseret News. “The opportunities are great. The support on the tour for David has been unbelievable. (Saturday) night in Tacoma, it blew my mind how many people there were supporting David.
“Even I couldn’t go anywhere without being swarmed by people. People wanted my picture. They had me signing stuff … which was totally weird,” he said with a laugh.
Tickets readily available for 2 ‘Idols’ concerts
When “American Idol” season seven came to a close, David Cook took home the top honors.
And the runner-up, David Archuleta of Murray, told EW.com last month that Cook deserved to win.
“I think Cook deserved to win more than anything because he proved every week why he was there and why he should be the American Idol,” Archuleta said.
However, Cook probably isn’t the reason why the 10,000 tickets for tonight’s “American Idols Live” concert at the E Center sold out initially. A majority of the concertgoers would more than likely say they are there to see Archuleta.
E Center general manager Kevin Bruder was surprised at how quickly the tickets sold.
“The tickets were gone in 20 minutes — so fast that it became the fastest-selling concert we have ever had,” he said.
Your two favorite Davids deliver polished sets at American Idols Live in Tacoma
Fame is that most fickle of commodities. And the attractive, personable young singers performing at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday, as top finalists from the phenom TV talent show “American Idol,” were savoring their taste of it.
Predominantly female (median age between 10 and 60), the large T-Dome crowd greeted some of the Idols with polite enthusiasm, and several with wild cheering.
A blend of basic stagecraft, celebrity worship, commercial huckstering and musical diversity, the Idols show gave each performer a solo set of three or four numbers.
Encouraged constantly to roar their approval, the crowd clearly gave the warmest reception to the top male vote getters — who really were the most distinctive entertainers in the bunch.
Welcome to the Idol machine, where spontaneity is crushed
Five things we learned watching the “American Idols Live!” concert at the Rose Garden Friday night: 1. The Idols sure do like Portland. 2. You have to follow your heart. 3. Girls scream for David Archuleta. 4. We’re an awesome crowd! 5. “American Idols Live!” is the concert equivalent of a summertime action movie — engineered to give the audience a show with flash, energy and precious few surprises.
“American Idol” is, at its core, about building a machine and inserting individuals into it. When it has a weak, charisma-challenged batch of contestants, as happened last year, the results are forgettable. In the recently concluded season, the talent pool was deeper, and the winner — rocker David Cook — was a refreshing change from the typical “Idol” pop balladeers. And, for local rooting interest, there was Kristy Lee Cook of Selma, in southwest Oregon, who — despite frequent trips to the bottom three — hung on long enough to earn a spot among the top 10 finalists who go on the nationwide tour.
Idols give a mixed performance in Tacoma
The “American Idol” commercial machine hit the Tacoma Dome on Saturday with its tour featuring the top 10 contestants from the seventh season, attracting a packed house of young families and tween David Archuleta admirers.
The “Idol” contestants sang three songs each in order of their elimination from the show, so the three-hour extravaganza opened with Chikezie, who peaked with his well-executed final song, John Legend’s “So High.”
“Idol’s” David Archuleta To Release Single In August, Album in November
Hollywood, CA (CNS) - Even though he didn’t win “American Idol,” David Archuleta won’t be fading from the spotlight anytime soon.
AllAccess.com is reporting that the 17-year-old will release his first single in August.
The song, called “Crush,” will be available for airplay Aug. 11 and released to radio Aug. 12.
Dave Hodges (Evanescence), Jess Clayton Cates and Emanuel S. Kiriakou are listed as the “Crush” writers on the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Web site.
Archuleta’s album is due out Nov. 4, according to Amazon.
LaToya London in “The Color Purple†from July 15 to Aug. 3 at Fox Theatre
LaToya London, from that diva trifecta which included Fantasia and Jennifer Hudson, is in Atlanta for more than two weeks for the national tour of “The Color Purple.â€
I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet but probably will. Personally, I found her somewhat less interesting than, say, Trenyce or Vonzell Solomon but better than Jasmine Trias. Any fans out there?
If you want tickets, “The Color Purple†is at the Fox Theatre from Tuesday, July 15 through August 3. You can buy them here.
Celebrities WE Care About: American Idols Bucky Covington, Rueben Studdard & Phil Stacey
Bucky Covington (Season 5, finished 8th)
Bucky says he got what he was looking for when he signed up for Idol.
His 8th place finish landed him a recording contract in Nashville.
Immediately after the show, he got a call from Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown who liked his style.
Miller would produce his first album, which was released last year.
For Jason Castro fans and other interested parties…
Even the siblings are vlogging! ;)
Jackieee Castro and her BFF Aly - Jason Castro special :)
Michael Castro
Thanks, purple. Those links both lead to the Michael Castro video blog though!
Oh, sorry…here’s Jackieee’s blog. :)
Re: the rooftop incident - that Jasonnn boy was crazy. LOL
Michael Johns singing the National Anthem at the Cubs game
Those Castro videos are cute. Jackie’s adorable and very smart. She’s pretty tech savvy for a 12 year old. It’s amazing how persuasive little sisters can be when it comes to big brothers. LOL. It was sweet of Michael to let her record him for the vlog. He was also extremely patient and a good sport.
Cool about LaYoya London. I still may get tickets to “The Color Purple” to see her but I don’t really feel like sitting through the play. The Fox Theater is beautiful. I love seeing plays there. Decisions, decisions.
How funny that Jason signed her picture with, I hate your guts, Jackie. j/k. He adores his little sister. Michael apparently, plays the uke too.
I love that Bucky and Phil are doing well in country music. Take that Simon!
I don’t think Jason’s arrangement of “Crazy” is bizarre. I love the Latin flavor he adds to it. He makes it his own. I think the writer is definitely a Cook/Archuletta fan.
Here’s another review of the Tacoma concert from Seattle PI.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/370623_idol14r.html?source=rss
Jason’s arrangement of “Crazy” is still my favorite. It has the depth and the vibe needed to make it a soulful performance. I get it and love it!
“Waiting for the World to Change” was my choice of David Archuleta songs. It was beautiful vocally and believable too. His performance skills are improving as well. I hope he sings the love songs later when it understands them. Hearing them now, only takes me half-way there. I hear the notes, but I don’t hear the message. Early in the AI competition he bowled me over when he sang, “Imagine”. Now I expect that kind of emotional performance from everything he sings.
I saw the Glendale version of “Crazy” on YT and really enjoyed it. However, I thought Jason did a very sub-par job when he was in San Jose. It just didn’t hang together very well musically. Maybe he was distracted or perhaps in auto-pilot. My husband, who heard that version for the first time, absolutely panned it. (I was kinda bummed because I actually couldn’t disagree with him despite Jason being my second fave.)
Those girls were so adorable - our two daughters have three big brothers and they are so cute to see, just like Jason and Michael with Jackie. Little sisters sure do have a way of getting their big brothers to do what they want. I can see Jackie and her friend having their own little talk show someday.
Speaking of Jason, he says in this fan video that he is going to record Hallelujah for a Mexican movie. ;)